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Portugal's national team had to withstand a serious goal assault in the second half of the match against Kazakhstan. The team was saved multiple times by goalkeeper Bebe, who overall faced 11 shots during the match, most of them - after the break. Perhaps the most impressive moment of the game was withstood Douglas' shot a few minutes before the end. In the penalty shootout, the Portuguese goalkeeper also blocked the first penalty of the Kazakhs, and the European champions won 4:3.
"It's hard to even speak," - Bebe told FIFA.com after the match. - It's hard to even think. Right now, there are very, very, very strong emotions. I'm 38 years old, I've worked my whole career for this moment. I'm in the World Cup final for the first time, Portugal is also in the final for the first time. This is history, an extraordinary feeling."
Talking with Bebe, his Portuguese teammates hugged, patted the goalkeeper on the back or cheered loudly. The player himself did not take credit. "I just did my job," he said. "It was a team effort, everyone was amazing. We had to beat a really great team. People are starting to realize how good the Kazakhstan team is. But we defended well, attacked well, and when necessary, I did what I had to do."
Portugal will face Argentina in the battle for the trophy on Sunday. "They have an incredible team," Bebe said. "They are world champions. They have incredible players and work very well as a team. They just eliminated Brazil, which has so many amazing players. We will play against a top-level team, but we believe in ourselves, we always believe in ourselves. We know we have a great team with incredible dedication. You saw that today, you saw that against Spain. We will be ready to fight for the title of world champions."
This title would practically fill the trophy cabinet of one of the best futsal players of all time - Ricardinho has been voted the best player in the world four times, won everything at club level, and also helped Portugal become European champions. "It would be amazing if he wins the title. Even if I were a neutral fan, I would really want that. Ricardinho has done incredible things for futsal, he really deserves it. Calling him a teammate is a huge honor. I want to see him with the trophy," Bebe said.
If Ricardinho manages to play that final note with a loud note, he will also have to thank his longtime friend Bebe for his performance in the semi-finals. The final between Portugal and Argentina will take place on Sunday at 8 p.m. at the Kaunas Arena.
